Snowboarder Guide » From the Editor

SIA 2012 is upon us

Chris — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:36:48 +0000

Hard to believe it’s already been a year, but the SIA tradeshow opens its doors tomorrow. Attendees will walk the miles of booths, checking out 2012-13 gear from all your favorite snow companies, party like rockstars, and head up to Winter Park for the on-snows.

We’ll be there in limited capacity this year, so for the daily blow-by-blow you should cruise over to Shay Boarder.

SBG: Where we’ve been, where we’re at, where we are going

Chris — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 10:29:16 +0000

This is the original business card we hit the road with in 1999

I started SBG with two good friends in the fall of 1998 as we prepared to hit the road on a snowboard roadtrip. It’s been more than a decade since I started cobbling together bits of code to make a website that would catalog our trip as we traveled from Alaska into Canada and then down through Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado during what was to be one of the best seasons on record.

We started out as what would later be called a blog

In the years since, Snowboarder Guide has taken a number of forms. We started out as what would later be called a blog, an online journal chronicling the story of three 18-year-olds on the road with the sole mission of snowboarding. The journal turned into reviews, and the resort reviews we wrote and published were some of the first available on the web. Over the next few years we moved into product reviews as well, and before the term blogging had even been coined, we had adopted a web magazine format.

We’ve been as small as two people, and at times had ten contributors. Maggie joined our team, first writing reviews, then articles, and then taking on the role of women’s editor and overseeing the female half of the product world as the industry recognized the need for women’s specific gear. We married in 2001, and celebrated 10 years this year. We’ve traveled all over the US, attended incredible events, hung out with legends and heroes, and made friends throughout the snowboard industry, and along the way we’ve had more powder days than anyone really deserves.

In the process, we lost our voice.

In the mid-to-late 2000s, two things happened: snowboard blogging really took off, and the print snowboard magazines started to put some real money into their websites. SBG was caught in the middle, more than a blog, but without the resources or print-revenue of a magazine. Stretched thin, we adapted by posting more press releases (because it was free content and search engines loved it), and opening our review system up for public reviews. In the process, we lost our voice. We were still here, snapping photos at events, publishing press releases to the website, and moderating user reviews, but it was no longer our words that made up the bulk of the site. The personality and character that our readers trusted and came to our corner of the web for, vanished.

At the same time, I was being pulled away by my other project, teaching, coaching, and guiding with Steamboat Guides. Steamboat Guides is awesome, and I’ll still be on-snow with SG many days of the week, but SBG is back.

“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.”

We’re still hammering out a number of details for this season, but I thought it was time to start laying some of it out. As Mark Twain so eloquently put it, “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” So here are a few of the changes:

Press Releases: We strongly feel that press releases are an important part of snowboard story, and so we’ll continue to post press releases. However, our goal is to do a better job of filtering the interesting and newsworthy (or things we want to make fun of) from the bland, generic press releases that fill up our inbox, and provide you that information with our voice. You can still read the standard press release at the bottom, but the top will be our words.

Contributors: Reviews and articles are back to a small team of on-snow reviewers. We hope to grow this and include more riders, but we’re starting small, and finding our voice again. If you’re interested in joining our team, feel free to get in touch.

Reviews: Reviews have been migrated out of the separate Censura review system and included within the main site. This makes for a site that runs faster, is actually searchable, and is far easier to update.

Review Scores: After ten years, we’re updating our review scoring. More on this soon.

A new look: This one is still a little ways off, but should be ready by the time snow hits.

SBG is a testament to years of hard work and great rewards, and is proof that if you work hard you can create something from scratch. It has been an incredible journey. I hope you’ll join us as we explore what’s next for Snowboarder Guide.

Gear for the Next Year is Looking Good!

Maggie — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 06:52:07 +0000

The SBG Editors just finished off SIA 2011 and are looking forward to seeing everything that was on display actually out on store shelves. All of the lines that we saw were impressive. Color waves are catchy, quality and technology in hardgoods is noteworthy, underlayers are softer and warmer than ever, and eye-wear should keep the future in clear focus. We will be bringing you more information about companies, lines and products, but for now, we have several pictures to initially show off what we just finished looking at.

On a different note, over the past several months SBG has been in transition. We have exciting news just around the corner about the future of the site. In the meantime, don’t forget that we want your reviews. Please let your fellow shredders know what you think about your equipment. After all, it is just snowboarding, and we all want the most out of it, so if you have an opinion on something, please share!

August 2010

Chris — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 20:20:55 +0000

Hard to believe it’s that time of year again. The crisp smell of cold air in the morning that tells you snow is coming soon, the teaser trailers for snowboard videos (we’ll start our 2011 snowboard video coverage soon), and the inevitable deluge of product in your local shops.

What are you looking forward to this year? Is it a new trick, a trip to a new resort, some new gear, or just riding with your friends? Whatever you’re jonesing for, you won’t have to wait much longer!

SBG

SIA.10 Denver

Chris — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:18:16 +0000

After 37 years in Denver, the annual SIA snowsports tradeshow has finally moved to a snowier location.

We’ll be on-site for the entirety of the show, with full coverage, including 2011 product previews, interviews, event coverage, and giveaways. Immediately after the show we’ll be headed up to Winter Park for the on-snow portion.

You can follow our adventures in Denver by checking out posts tagged SIA10 or follow us on Facebook or Twitter. You can also check Product Toss for giveaways.

On snow or Off snow?

Maggie — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:48:04 +0000

SIA Denver is just around the corner! Check the site for our updates from the show. After SBG’s several years in Vegas where typical American visitors (walking like zombies from slot to slot) completely clash with snowboarders (all made terribly obvious in hoodies, hats, skate shoes, backpacks and even toting boards), we will all notice the change.

Or will we? I expect the entire crowd will blend into life in the Rockies quite easily. From Denver you can actually see snowy peaks and it will be a challenge to keep people contained indoors when they are that close to temptation. There isn’t too much to be concerned about, however, with all the SIA activity and then two days of on-snow to follow. (It would be nice to have snow, that’s another story.)

We are excited and hope to see you there. And if for some reason you haven’t gotten the memos, or paid attention to anything or anyone around you, and you end up in Vegas… put some quarters in the slots in our honor!

Think Snow!

Maggie — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:03:44 +0000

Yep. It is nearly that time of year! How was your summer? The SBG team summer went quickly. We never fail to be fascinated by the fact that we can measure how quickly time passes just by counting seasons on snow. The onset of September means it has been over 10 years of SBG. It’s time to start getting in snowboard shape, especially if you have just been a bum all summer. It is also time to start thinking about what gear fits still, what you want to buy new, and where you want to shred, if you don’t already have that figured out.

SBG is undergoing a “Fall Facelift” so keep checking back and one day soon you will see the new site re-vamp. We are stoked.

From The Editor: Summer Sun in the North, Snowy Winter in the South

Maggie — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:15:24 +0000

Summer has finally hit the northern hemisphere, while the southern progresses with winter. Snowboarder Guide staff are in Alaska under the midnight sun and just put in their last days at a little resort called Ski Land. That doesn’t mean that snowboarding is too far off the brain. With excitement for next year’s product, items for summer testing, and the days of training for snowboard season once again ahead of us, really we see the season as having just begun! And, there are always those wintery southern locations to visit and keep the year-round dream alive.

Remember, with another full season behind you on last year’s gear, now is a great time to reflect on how you liked it and write a review! Please help us fight summer dormancy by keeping the site updated with your input on gear and resorts. Check back for periodic giveaways, new interviews and stories. Whatever your days find you doing, whether it be chillin on the beach, hiking, working hard so you can purchase your lift pass in the fall, or still shredding, keep it real and enjoy!

From the Editor: SIA.09

The Editor — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 23:51:02 +0000

Hard to believe it’s 2009 already, and what a year it’s been. Please join us in celebrating the new year by contributing to Protect Our Winters, a non-profit organization dedicated to reversing the global warming crisis by uniting the winter sports community: www.protectourwinters.org

SBG is in Las Vegas for SIA.09, and will be bringing you live coverage of the show with photos and more throughout the week. You can find all of our SIA.09 coverage right here

After SIA we’ll be headed to Keystone in mid-February to follow up with on-snow testing of the boards and bindings we’re seeing here, and then covering The North Face Masters event in Crested Butte Colorado. Stay tuned!

The new review engine is working great, and you can join us in posting reviews of your favorite (and least favorite) products and resorts. For detailed instructions on how to post a review, head over here: Review Instructions

From the Editor: January 2009

The Editor — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:04:38 +0000

Hard to believe it’s 2009 already, and what a year it’s been. Yesterday saw the swearing in of our new President, and hopefully the dawn of a new age. Please join us in celebrating the new year by contributing to Protect Our Winters, a non-profit organization dedicated to reversing the global warming crisis by uniting the winter sports community: www.protectourwinters.org

The SIA tradeshow is just around the corner, the final show in Vegas. As usual, we’ll be there bringing you first-hand accounts of next year’s new goodies and partaking in the blow-out festivities. There will be a few minor changes to the site over the next week, one big step will be better incorporating the Photo Vault into the rest of the site, allowing us to post more photos more quickly, especially from events like SIA.